Biglaw

Protests And Boycotts Come To Jones Day's Doorstep

Updated with images from the protests.

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I’ve, erm, written a lot about Jones Day over the last few days (and I’ll probably write more!). But, by far, my favorite bit is running down the deluge of shit that’s been heaped upon them since Donald Trump lost the election.

There was the New York Times article blowing up Jones Day (and Porter Wright) over their election litigation representations. Then there was Jones Day’s anemic response to the controversy. The Lincoln Project also promised to spend $500,000 on an ad campaign going after them — and, importantly, their clients — over the representation. But the MeidasTouch PAC actually beat them to the punch by releasing a Jones Day attack video first. All the while, other Biglaw firms have been fleeing the election litigation like rats from a ship.

And now the people have taken the controversy to Jones Day’s doorstep — literally.

But first let’s talk about the organizing that people are doing to hit Jones Day where it really hurts — their ability to recruit the best and brightest lawyers. The People’s Parity Project is circulating a petition asking law students to refrain from interviewing at any of the law firms implicated in Donald Trump’s effort to undo the results of the election by court fiat:

Our democracy is under attack. President Trump’s reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee have filed frivolous lawsuits in states across the country in an attempt to overturn the results of a fair election and undermine our democratic process. These lawsuits are failing and have received vehement criticism for their meritless attempts to sow discord and distrust.

Yet, attorneys from Jones Day, Porter Wright, King & Spalding, and Consovoy McCarthy are leading the charge. They are not just complicit – they are enabling despotic attempts to threaten our election integrity and the future of our nation. This is unethical, plain and simple.

Proving great minds think alike, a separate petition is also circulating asking law students to refrain from interviewing with Jones Day. They’ve made a similar pitch as PPP, but have limited their scope of firms to just the headline-grabbing Jones Day:

President Trump’s reelection campaign, state Republican parties, and other associated groups have filed lawsuit after frivolous lawsuit across the country in a dead-end attempt to overturn the results of a free, fair, and democratic election. Jones Day, which has taken over $4 million this year alone to represent Trump and the RNC, is lending those lawsuits a false sheen of credibility. The firm is thereby complicit in the Trump campaign’s efforts hinder the proper functioning of American democracy.

Law students, and particularly 2Ls engaged in the firm recruiting process, wield substantial power right now. Across the country, we are asked to rank and interview with firms seeking the best-trained legal minds our schools have to offer. We are a small pool of talent in high demand, and the list of firms in contention to employ us is long. We therefore call upon law students across the nation to refrain from participating in Jones Day’s recruiting process–to make clear that our names will not be used to launder the firm’s negligent self-interest.

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But that’s not all. Direct action group Rise and Resist has organized picketing in front of Jones Day’s New York office, as well as phone campaign at the D.C. outpost of Jones Day (they also organized phoning against Porter Wright, but it’s unclear how that proceeded given the firm’s withdrawal from that representation):

“Jones Day is participating in a process designed to delegitimize the electoral process and cast doubt on whether Biden is in fact the President-elect,” said Jamie Bauer, a member of Rise and Resist. “This effectively instills the belief in voters that all elections that Republicans lose are rigged, and that all outcomes where Democrats win are suspect. This is one of Trump’s consistent lies going back to the 2016 election, and Jones Day should be ashamed that they are repeating it.”
“No law firm has done more than Jones Day LLP to promote Donald Trump’s bigotry, corruption, and authoritarianism — but these frivolous election lawsuits are a new low, meant to undermine confidence in our democracy. New York’s “elite” law firms must end their profiting off hate: Jones Day must cut its ties with Donald Trump, or New Yorkers should cut their ties with Jones Day,” said Janos Marton, civil rights lawyer and candidate for Manhattan DA.

UPDATE: Check out images from the protest:

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While another action group, Shutdown D.C. is organizing against King & Spalding and Porter Wright for their representations:

Over the last several days, Donald Trump and his allies have doubled down on their false claims that Trump won the election – and they are continuing to undermine democracy by giving credence to absurd conspiracy theories and impeding the future Biden administration.
But they’re not alone in this exercise. They’re getting support from two law firms – King & Spalding and Porter Wright – that are helping to litigate Trump’s groundless claims. These firms are complicit in helping Trump bully and cheat in his desperate effort to take votes away from Black, Indigenous, and brown people in this country. These lawyers took an oath in support of the Constitution, but now they are violating it with these unethical actions.

UPDATE: From the protests at King & Spalding’s office:

Between the picketing and boycotts and attack videos, the pressure is really on at Jones Day, and others representing Trump and his allies. So far, Jones Day has doubled down. But we are hearing constant rumblings about dissension in the ranks from inside the firm. So, Jones Day attorneys, how do you feel about the firm’s representation? Feel free to sound off by email, by text message (646-820-8477), or by tweet (@ATLblog). A fun or insightful response — we’ll keep you anonymous — could find its way into an update to this story.

headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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